MATE
by FaolansVehngeance
Summary: Death crash lands on Earth, injured and in need of a place to stay during a harsh blizzard. Ana was just a plain horse owner who ran a business of sleigh rides and hauling beer. But when a blizzard hits and is in need of dry wood, she heads out to the pile and wasn't expecting to find Death there. She isn't too happy to find out why he was here, but may change her mind.
1. Chapter 1

Ana was just a country girl. She had been born in the mountains of Montana and had lived here since. She hated the cities and smoke filled skies. She loved to see the valley's with lush green grass, and to climb up the tallest mountain and look down at the setting sun. She was as hard and cold as the land she grew up on, but the people of Whitefish were good and looked out for one another. She had been raised by a whole town, and for that she was grateful. Luckily for her, the people of Whitefish, Montana still used draft horses to haul their beer brews and for sleigh rides in the winter. She had raised and trained every horse she owned with her own two hands. They knew her, and she knew them. They were her only companions, besides her half German shepherd-half wolf friend Nodin.

At the moment, there was too much snow to get to the barn, and Nodin had gone off for a hunt. She sighed and wrapped her hands around her steaming mug of green tea, happy to have some source of warmth. If she didn't get wood into the house and dried, she was going to have a very cold winter. Seeing no escape from a day of hard work, Ana set her mug down and headed for the mud room to get dressed. She pulled on her winter mud boots and coat, then pulled on a hat and riding gloves. She then grabbed a snow shovel and headed out to the barn.

A good thirty minutes after shoveling fifty feet of four foot deep snow, Ana was sitting in front of the barn panting heavily. She tossed the shovel off to the side of the barn and caught her breathe. She then unlocked the barn and headed inside to tack up Sampson, her only shire that was able to be ridden. Once he was tacked up and waiting outside, she got out the wood sled and hooked it up to his saddle and then mounted. Once ready and her hat was pushed back down on her head, and her hunting rifle was strapped to her back, she headed out to her remote wood pile to gather enough wood to last at least a day. On the smooth ride there, she noticed that the trees were scratched up and missing large pieces of bark. Which was odd, the bears wouldn't be out until early spring. So why are there fresh scratches on the tree trunks? She dropped the reins to Sampson and pulled her rifle out and undid the safety. She wasn't about to be taken out by some animal. And Sampson would act as her one and only warning. As they got closer and closer to the wood pile, she started to see burnt places on the snow covered ground, and where it was burnt, there was no snow. From the looks of the tracks, they were that of a horse. But why would a horse be on fire? She heard a branch snap close by and Sampson stopped abruptly. She took aim and searched the area from his back. She gently nudged Sampson forward, guiding him with her legs so that he would give the wood pile a wide berth. She had her rifle ready to fire when they rounded the corner and what she found made her gasp and lower her rifle for only a second. There was a creature that appeared to be human, but it was too different to be an actual human. It was at least three times her size, and it was solid muscle, not a speck of fat on it. She took in its deathly pale skin and tattered clothes. The thing was huge, and how it came to make a crater in her wood pile and collapsed on top of it was beyond her. She looked the direction that it would have been looking at if it were conscious, and found that it must have been violently slammed into trees, through the dirt, and leaving great cracks in the great boulder not far from the pile. She nudged Sampson closer, careful to keep just enough distance and keep her rifle aimed and at the ready. The creature groaned and Sampson jumped backwards in surprise. Ana struggled to stay on, and in the process lost her rifle in the deep snow.

Ana had Sampson steadied and calm within minutes, and watched in amazement as the creature sat up gingerly, gently shaking its head.

"Ugh, what hit me?" it groaned, its deep and rumbling voice sending shivers down Ana's spine.

"I don't know who you are, or how you came to be here, but please leave," Ana said, dismounting Sampson and taking a fighting stance.

She may be a country girl, but she wasn't defenseless. She had been made a master of Muay Thai since the age of sixteen, and no one she had ever faced wanted to face her again. The creature growled and looked over at her, and got to its feet. But before it could even take a step toward her, it moaned in pain and fell back onto the wood pile. It didn't move for more than twenty minutes, making Ana's motherly instincts go into hyper drive, but she struggled to hold them in check.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked, carefully creeping closer to the wood pile.

"No. I was attacked by something, then crashed landed over there," it groaned, weakly lifting an arm to point toward the jagged peak not far from them. "Then whatever it was attacked me again, and then I can't remember. I woke up in this pile when you came charging up on that horse. It hurts to move and I can hardly breathe. I have no idea what it did to me, but it got me pretty good."

All the while it was talking, she had come up next to it and leaned over it a bit.

"Do you need any help?" she asked, careful to keep her distance.

"I do not need the help of a human. I am a rider, not a pet," it growled, trying to grab at her.

She growled back and leapt away from the wood pile. She gathered Sampson's reins and led the horse to the far side of the pile.

"If you don't want my help, then you can freeze in the blizzard that's on its way. I was just trying to be nice," she snapped at him, putting wood on the sled as she talked.

"A human being nice? That's something I've never heard before. You humans are pests and rude, caring not for others around you," it growled back.

"I obviously cared enough to offer my help to you. And I was polite when asking you to leave my property, and was nice enough to want to help you. Your mind has the wrong impression of us humans. Not all of us are as rude or mean as you have said," she said quietly, not daring to look up from her work.

The creature was silent, and Ana continued on with her work as if nothing had ever happened. If it wanted to be mean, she could be mean right back and ignore it. She filled her sled with as much wood as it could hold and started to mount when she saw the creature struggled to get off the wood pile. She watched it carefully, not trusting it to be gentle. It staggered and slumped against a tree to stay upright.

"Well, I hope you have a nice day. And I wish you a speedy recovery. Sorry for disturbing you," she snapped, mounting her horse and heading back home.

She had left the creature in the woods at least six hours ago, yet she paced the living room, keeping a close eye on the edge of the forests. She turned away for only a second, but when she turned back, the creature was half walking, half limping across the small meadow that was just behind her massive log cabin. She growled low in her throat and went into the kitchen. She figured that if it was going to be in the same house as her, she might as well try to make it a pleasant few hours instead of a death match. She put two full kettles of water on the gas stove and turned the burners up all the way and pulled out the leftover deli meat in her fridge to make a plate of sandwiches and put out two huge mugs and the hot coco powder with mini marshmallows. She was busy getting the whistling kettles off the burner when the creature gently tapped on the sliding glass door that led to her massive wrap around porch. She left the kettles on the stove and went to the door. It looked like it had been hit by a semi-truck and then trampled by a stampede of caribou. She sighed and slid the door open only a few inches.

"May I help you?" she asked politely, looking it up and down.

"I am in need of your help. May I get bandages and a place to rest for just one night? I apologize for my rudeness and if I have offended you. It was wrong of me to do so," it said, its voice not exactly happy to be saying the words.

"You may stay, and I will help you. Come inside and I'll get the supplies," she said, pushing the door all the way open so that it would have enough room to enter.

It paused at the door and she flinched when she heard bones popping and moving. The creature groaned and shrank in size, but it was still much larger than her, but at least the size of a really large man. It entered her home and just stood there, unsure of where to go or what to do. She motioned for it to have a seat on the couch and it sat, groaning in pain as it did so. She went into the kitchen and prepared a large mug of hot chocolate and brought out the platter of sandwiches and placed them on the coffee table in front of it. It seemed that the creature had never had someone give him food before.

"Eat, drink, get warm. I'll be back with bandages," she said, heading to the bathroom.

She gathered the appropriate supplies and with arms full of towels, bandages, ointment, and a small bowl of steaming water, she headed back to the living room. She found the creature just holding the mug of hot chocolate and staring off into space. She found the plate of sandwiches untouched and none of the hot chocolate had been drunk. She placed the supplies on the coffee table next to the plate of food and then gently took the cup from its hands. It jumped when it came back from daydreaming and stared up at her with confused and smoldering red-gold eyes.

"Here, this will help keep you warm," she said, wrapping one of her massive and fuzzy towels around its shoulders, having to lean closer to it in order to do so.

It suddenly rested its head on her stomach, sighing heavily. Its massive and clawed hands gripped her thighs tightly, but gently. She froze in place unsure of what to do. It just rested against her for at least half an hour, remaining unmoving. She legs had started to tremble from all the weight it had leaning against her at least five minutes ago, but it still had not moved. She finally placed her hands on the creature's wide shoulders and gently pushed it away from her. It looked so lost, and hurt not just physically, but mentally. She felt pity rise in her, but trapped it, this creature would not want her pity. It was too proud to be pitied or even accept pity. She stepped away from it, but it just grabbed her and pulled her back to it. She didn't know what to do besides just stand there. She was at a loss for words and actions when it came to this being.

"You're so warm," it mumbled, wrapping its massive arms around her legs.

"Um, thanks. Could you let me go so I can care for your wounds?" she said nervously.

It growled when she tried to move away from it, but froze when it raised its head and in its burning eyes was a look of pure awe. She didn't move and was afraid to ask what was going on. But she needed to get away before something happened.

"You're the one. That one I have been waiting for. How could you have been here all this time?" it growled angrily and wobbly came to its feet.

She steadied him, and when she took a step back, its hands latched onto her shoulders. She froze when it pulled her closer and dug her heels in to try and keep her distance.

"What are you talking about? You're really starting to freak me out," she said angrily, trying to push it away from her.

"I am Death, one of the Four Horsemen, and you, human, are my Mo Shonuachar," it said, its eyes softening only slightly.

"What does that mean? And why are you clinging to me like a cat high on catnip?" she snapped, shoving it away from her.

"It means that you are my mate. And I am most definitely not a cat and I hate catnip," Death growled, taking a step toward her.

"I am no one's mate! And I don't even know what you are! Or why you're still in my house!" she shouted, taking several steps back.

"I remember. I was sent here to find you. I was sent here to be tamed," Death growled angrily, turning from her to stare out the sliding glass door.

"Sent by who?" she asked, still afraid to get close t ohim.

"The Charred Council. They think that I am not loyal enough and that I need to be tamed by my mate. But since you have just as much spitfire as I do, I believe that their plan is futile. What do you think?" Death said, turning back to her.

"I think that you and wherever you came from are smoking something really strong and that I am not your mate. I think that you are just a wackjob and need to get out of my house!" she shouted, pushing the sliding door open and pointing out towards the woods.

"Look, I know this is a lot to take in, but you must listen to me. You are my mate, and I will prove to you that being my mate won't be such a bad thing," Death growled, taking a step toward her. "Would you still throw out an injured being in need of your help?"

Ana growled and glared at Death. He had found and exploited her weak spot. She couldn't help it when it came to people in need. She had to help or her mind would drive her insane. She let out a roar of rage and slammed the sliding glass door shut and stormed past Death and into her room, slamming the door shut behind her. She locked the door and went into the bathroom and closed and locked that door. She closed the lid on the toilet and sat down, defeated. She was tired and needed to sleep this off, but with Death not far from her room, she would get no rest this night.


	2. Chapter 2

Death waited on the leather couch for hours, even though patience was not his best virtue. He was forcing himself to be the best mate that there ever was. If he wanted to survive the next six months, he had to get the human woman to accept him as her mate. When a Nephilim went into heat, which was always violent, only the mate could calm them. He didn't want to destroy her home, he wanted to make it better, but if she didn't accept him, they were both done for. Death sighed heavily and slumped forward, unable to keep himself upright any longer. He needed to heal if he wanted to protect the human and her home, which meant a good night's rest was required.

"You'll come around, I know you will," he whispered, glancing over his right shoulder at the closed door to her room.

Death stretched out on the couch and let his body relax for the first time in a long, long while.

Ana had been awake the entire night. She knew that she wasn't going to get any sleep, and had been prepared for it. She had a large stack of books that had just been read sitting on the night stand. She hated it when she couldn't sleep. It was bad for her health. She wasn't exactly the kind of woman that men went after, not just because she wasn't shaped like a model, but because she would pass out from lack of sleep and she would get seizures if it happened too often. The whole town knew about her condition and the men there didn't seem to want to deal with it. She had no money to take care of her problem and had learned to live with it.

Ana came out of her room, her long dark brown curls a mess and dark bags under her eyes. She looked like she had been rolling around in a pit full of balloons so that her hair stuck out in various angles. She shuffled past the couch, well aware the death was sprawled atop it, fast asleep. She went into the kitchen, changed the water in the kettle, placed it on a burner and turned it up all the way. She went to the sink and washed her hands, slowly and carefully scrubbing yesterday's dirt away. She paused when she heard something behind her shift, but went back to what she was doing when the noise had faded.

Suddenly strong and pale skinned arms were wrapped around her midsection and she was hoisted off her feet. She let out a startled cry and started to squirm. She didn't like being snuck up on, and Death was definitely one who liked to do so. If they were going to be in this house for at least a week during the upcoming blizzard, there was going to be a lot of rules.

"Death, put me down this instant!" she shouted angrily.

Death grunted and set her back on her feet, already in the living room. She took a step away from him, but he just grabbed her around her waist and hauled her back to him. She tried to get him to let her go, but it was useless, and she was already out of energy.

"Already out of the fight?" Death chuckled, holding her close.

"I'm tired. Please let me go so I can get my coffee. It's too early for crap like this," she growled, pushing him away from her.

Death let her go, uneasy about her very volatile mood. She must not have gotten enough sleep last night. A thing he was most likely responsible for. She did have a rather trying day, and he had come out of nowhere. She shuffled into the kitchen, looking like a zombie, and made a rather large cup of coffee. She was in the middle of picking up the cup when she started to shake violently. Death rushed over to her and waited to see if she needed his help.

"Please not today," she mumbled, she pushed the cup away from the edge of the counter right before her legs buckled.

Death didn't catch her in time and she hit the ground with a loud thud. She didn't move or make a sound, and her eyes were closed. She had passed out. What for he had no idea, he just knew that it was his duty to care for his mate when she needed it. And now was one of those times. He gently scooped her up and rushed to her room. He laid her on the bed and grabbed blankets that he could reach without leaving her side. She was unresponsive and he tried several things to get her to wake up. Death growled when he couldn't get her to open her eyes and talk to him. So he climbed up onto the bed next to her and cradled her in his massive arms, hoping she would wake soon.

Ana woke to find a pale skinned chest pressed against her right cheek. She moaned and the chest she was resting against pulled away. Death stared down at her with blazing eyes and a rigid body.

"Are you alright? You just passed out all of a sudden and wouldn't respond to me. You have me worried," he all but roared.

"It happens when I don't get enough sleep. And if it happens too often, I'll go into a seizure. And no thanks to you for keeping me awake!" she all but roared back, sitting up.

Death growled, but held her steady as she fought to not shake or sway. She pushed his hands away from her and crawled out of bed, using the walls as her support. Death obviously didn't like her doing that, for he picked her up bridal style and walked out into the living room. He set her on the couch and then went to the kitchen to retrieve her now cold cup of coffee. She sighed when he handed it to her, and was about to get up when he snatched the cup from her hand and then gently pushed her back onto the couch.

"Stay there. What needs to be done in order for you to drink this?" he asked, squatting in front of her so that they were almost at eye level.

"It needs to be heated. I hate cold coffee. What you need to do is take one of the small pots hanging on the hooks just above the island in the kitchen and put it on the stove. Next you need to pour the cold coffee into the pan and then turn the burner on all the way up until you see steam coming from the coffee. Once it is warm enough, turn off the stove and pour the now hot coffee into the cup. It's simple," she said, folding her arms across her chest.

Death merely grunted and went to do as she had instructed. Ana sighed once given the peace and quiet that she was wanting, and hated herself for starting to drift. She did have a rough night, and she wasn't about to go into a seizure.


	3. Chapter 3

When Death finally had her coffee heated and ready to go, after about six tries, he headed to the living room and found her asleep on the couch. She really must have had no sleep. He sighed and placed the cup on the coffee table, the sound it made seeming to have woken her. She blinked blankly for at least a second before she spied the cup of now warm coffee on the table. Death Flinched when she pounced on it like a wild animal and caged it in her hands. She was most definitely his mate. No one had ever made him flinch before. Death left her to drink her coffee in peace, aimlessly roaming around the living room. She didn't have very many things. Just a few small tables with various kinds of books and piles of papers. From the looks of them, they were research papers written by scientists. So she was fierce and smart. Death smirked behind his mask as he started to read one of the research papers that was studying the effect of radiation of plants and animals. She was most definitely smart.

"What are you doing?" she asked, making him spin around to look at her.

"Reading this paper. It is quite interesting," he replied, turning away from her to continue reading.

He faintly heard her get up off the couch and put her cup in the kitchen sink. She then disappeared into a room off to the side and he glanced over his shoulder to make sure she wasn't going to pass out again or hurt herself. When there were no loud thuds or crashes, he went back to reading.

"Stay here. I'll be back in about an hour," she grumbled, trudging through the living room wearing a winter suit and large fur lined boots.

"Where are you going?" he demanded, putting the paper back where he found it.

"I have horses to take care of. I can't just leave them to starve," she growled, sending a glare full of daggers his way.

"You have horses?" he asked, completely forgetting that she had appeared with one when he had first arrived on Earth.

"Yes, and they need to be taken care of. Stay here," she growled, slipping out the door and closing it behind her.

Death went over to the sliding door and watched as she walked down a shoveled path to the massive barn thirty yards from the house. For a barn so large, she had to have many horses. Curious as to how many she actually owned, Death decided to disobey her orders, even though he knew he was in for a shouting match, and headed outside. He approached the barn cautiously, waiting for any sign of her near the door. When she wasn't at the door, Death slipped inside and froze in his tracks. Massive horses that were taller than him in his smaller size lined the sides of the barn, leaving a large lane down the center for them to walk in and out of the barn. And at the moment, Ana was pushing a wheelbarrow burdened with large hay bales down the lane. He approached quietly, glancing at the horses as he passed them. They were huge! How on earth could such a small woman control such a massive beast? His question was answered when she opened up one of the stall doors and led the largest of the horses out by a small lead line. The horse seemed to be very careful when walking next to her, watching where it stepped and where it was going. She barely reached the top of its chest, and yet she had full and total control over the horse. Satisfied with what he had seen, he knew that the horses would take care of her. He was headed back to the house when he heard her scream and saw the horse trotting away from behind the barn. Death took off at an all-out run and as he rounded the corner, he saw a large grey and black wolf on top of her. But froze when her heard her giggling laughter.

"Get off me, Nodin! You smell like a rotting log!" she wailed, laughing all the while.

Death watched in amusement as the wolf crawled off of her and rolled onto its back beside her. She rubbed its stomach and tossed snow onto it, making it shake and yip happily at her. Death heard the horse coming back to them and turned just in time for it to rub its head on his chest, knocking him over onto his butt. The horse was obviously just being friendly, and that he could deal with.

"I thought I told you to stay in the house," Ana growled, her angered voice making the wolf growl right along with her.

"I heard you scream, and after all, I have to protect my mate," Death replied, rising to his feet and gently patting the horse on its massive neck.

"That's Sampson, you two met when we first found you," she said, also coming to her feet. "And this is Nodin, my half wolf, half German Shepherd. He bites on command," she said, taking Sampson's lead line and tugging him along behind her to a large enclosed pasture.

Once Sampson was inside, and rolling vigorously in the snow, she turned on Death.

"First off, I can take care of myself. Second, I don't need you scaring my horses, and third, you were told to stay in the house. Now go," she growled, pointing to the house.

"What if I said that I wish to help you?" Death growled back.

"I don't need it. Please go back inside," she growled, pushing past him.

Death grabbed her arm as she was walking by and realized that it was his biggest mistake since he got here. Nodin was suddenly in his face and snarling loudly. His jaws were snapping just inches form Death's face and luckily he had a massive hand on the dog's chest, holding it at bay.

"That's what you get for disobeying orders. Nodin, come," she snarled, snapping her fingers and then pointing to the spot next to her.

Nodin obeyed his master's command and sat next to her, panting and wagging his tail happily. Death growled and came to his feet, brushing snow off his body as he did so. He growled angrily at Ana and just stormed up to the house, not at all pleased with this whole tame your mate thing. She was just as volatile and hard as he was, which was going to make this whole mating thing even harder than he had anticipated. And seeing as how he was the only horseman to be in heat at the moment and have an actual mate made it even harder. Perhaps his sister could give him some advice to gain Ana's affections. But a call to his sister would cost him dearly, whether it is weapons or duel he did not know.

Death went into the house, feeling defeated, which rarely ever occurred. He had no choice but to make a call home, and he just hoped that Ana didn't find out.

Ana slowly trudged her way back up to the house, Nodin barking and running circles around her happily. He obviously had a successful hunt, cause he smelled of rotting logs, which meant that he had slept in a fallen and hollowed out log. Which also meant that he needed a bath. She stopped when there was a sudden flash of light and then saw the back wall of her log cabin explode outward. She faintly saw Death tumbling down the small hill that was on that side of the house. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a woman very similar to Death in looks, except for the flaming red hair and equally flaming whip. The female stalked after Death, clearly upset and angry. Ana wasn't cold enough to just leave him to fight alone. She charged toward them, Nodin at her side. Once she came over the hill, she saw Death speaking with the female and ducked behind a tree and pulled Nodin with her. She froze when she heard Death pause in what he was saying, and take a step toward her tree. But he must have been stopped by the female and their conversation continued.

She jumped in surprise when there was a sudden flash of light, which made Nodin yelp in pain. She was blinded for at least minute and heard Death trudging through snow to stop at her tree, yet see could not see him. She was in trouble, that she knew, for no one liked to be eavesdropped upon.


	4. Chapter 4

"What were you doing?" she heard Death growl.

"I should ask the same of you. You wrecked my house!" Ana shouted back, coming to her feet even though she still couldn't quite see.

"It is none of your business," he snarled, steadying her when she swayed from a dizzy spell.

"It is my business if it concerns me as a person. And whatever you did, it ruined an entire wall of my house just before a blizzard. If it's not fixed in time, we could freeze to death!" she shouted angrily.

"Its fine I'll just-"

"Fine?! FINE?! It is not fine! You may not be human, but I am. I would rather not die because of some stupid male hormones! Either you fix it within the next twenty hours, or we're both screwed. And you'll lose your chance to change my mind on the whole stupid mate thing," she screamed, poking him hard in the chest.

She stormed off, kicking chunks of her wall out of her way and finally got mad enough to pick up a piece and launch it at him. Luckily for her, it hit him on the back of the head, knocking him out of his shocked state. He looked up at her, one hand at his head the other rubbing the spot where she poked his chest.

"Well don't just stand there! Get to work!" she shouted, heading for the barn.

Death growled angrily and glanced over at the ruined wall, and then sighed heavily. She was right, if it wasn't fixed, he would lose his mate, and that he could not allow. But she never said that he couldn't have a little ghoulish help.

Ana finally had all her work done in the barn by sunset, and with Nodin at her side, she felt quite happy. Until she locked up the barn and saw Death tearing up a pine tree in his much larger form and then having some sort of undead creature strip the bark and then sliced it into the right size. She sighed and felt all her energy just drain right out of her. She trudged up to the house and went inside and shivered. The fire in the fireplace had gone out and now the whole house was freezing cold. She pulled her coat tighter around her, and started the fire back up, gingerly holding her hands out to the heat. She was currently huddled in a ball in front of the fire, her whole body shivering and cold. She hated to feel this cold, and it didn't help that she was already tired enough to not get up in the morning. She heard Death come into the house through the sliding glass door and pause when he spotted her.

"Are you done with the wall?" she snapped, still angry with him.

"No, I just-"

"Get back outside until it is finished. I don't want you in here," she growled, glancing over her shoulder at him.

"But-"

"No buts, get out," she snapped.

"But, I was just coming to check on you," he said, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine.

"I'm fine. Don't come back here until that wall is finished," she said quietly, her tone gentle, yet oddly lethal.

Death growled at her and stormed back out the house, yet was careful when he shut the glass door. She heard him trudging through the deep snow and sighed. This was going to be a tough blizzard to live through.

Death slipped back into the house once the wall was finished and his ghouls were back in the underworld. He could see his mate lying on the hard floor with her head resting on Nodin, but she was shivering violently and the fire had gone down quite a bit. Sighing heavily, Death went to the hearth and placed three logs onto the fire and gently adjusted her coat to keep it tighter around her. He spotted a blanket on the back of the leather sofa and grabbed it. He placed it over her and Nodin, earning a bit of respect from the magnificent animal. Death then sat down on the couch and crossed his arms over his chest. Turns out building a wall made from logs was a lot harder than he thought it would be. Had she made this house herself? If so, she was most definitely qualified to be his mate. Then a thought struck him, he didn't even know her name. He was her mate and he didn't even know her name. Feeling worse than ever and hating every second of it, he slid from the couch and gathered his mate in his arms and just held her. Her shivering slowly ceased, and she even rolled over to snuggle deeper into his chest. He recalled her outburst, and remembered being so shocked by it that he was speechless and motionless. No one had ever commanded him as she did, or even dared to force him to do something against his will. She was changing him, and he was finding that he wasn't actually minding it one bit.


	5. Chapter 5

When Ana woke, she knew that she wasn't going to be doing much that day. Her head was pounding with a terrible headache. She just laid there, unable to breathe through her nose, and her ears felt plugged. She had come down with a cold, and now couldn't care for her horses or herself for that matter. She didn't exactly have the best immune system in the world. She weakly opened her eyes, seeing a roaring fire, and Nodin staring down at her with his big gold eyes. She felt her throat begin to itch and she tried to stifle her cough, she obviously didn't want Death to find out that she was sick. But, unfortunately for her, he must have heard her. But she wasn't expecting him to twitch just behind her and with an arm draped over her waist. She froze, hoping that he was still sleeping, but he wasn't.

"Are you alright?" he groaned, obviously tired from the day before.

"Fine," she snapped, her voice hoarse even to her own ears.

Death slowly came to a sitting position and stared down at her.

"You are obviously not fine. What is wrong?" he growled, gently rolling her onto her back so that they were looking eye to eye.

"None of your business," she said, repeating the same thing he had said to her the day before.

"It is my business. You are my mate and I must care for you," he snapped, leaning down over her so that she could not find and escape.

Ana knew she was trapped, but that didn't meant she wasn't going to fight her way out. She went to shove him, but he read her movements and caught her wrists in one hand and held them over her head.

"Tell me what is wrong and I will release you," he whispered, leaning closer.

"Never," she snarled, glaring up at him with all her might.

"Fine, but could you at least give me your name?" he asked, his tone and grip softening only slightly.

"Now you ask for my name? A little late for introductions," she snarled, shifting beneath him so that she could plant her feet firmly on the wood floor.

"It did not occur to me to ask for a name. Where I come from, names are given automatically. And depending on the meeting, there usually is some sort of brawl afterwards," he said softly, trying to not be the villain in this situation.

"Ana. My name is Ana," she said tersely, refusing to look at him.

"Ana, I like it. It suits you," he said, easing up on his hold, but not enough that she could pull her hands free. "Now tell me, Ana, what is wrong? You cannot hide it from me. I can sense that there is something wrong. I cannot help you if you don't tell me how."

Ana growled at him and turned her head off to the side, clearly not wanting to tell him she was sick. She knew he would go ballistic and become the overprotective type. She hated to be controlled in everything she did, and she didn't want that when she wasn't feeling the greatest.

"I picked up a cold. Nothing more," she said finally, too tired to fight him.

Death removed his hand from her wrists and then sat back up, gently taking her with him. He looked at her carefully, then slowly reached out and felt her temperature. She did have a slight fever, and she was tired, that he could see. She needed some soup and rest, and hopefully she had some sort of medicine to help ease her discomfort.

"Where do you keep your soup?" he asked, pulling away from her.

Ana just blinked up at him dumbly, but recovered quickly and told him where it was in the kitchen. She then also listed a box of pills that she needed brought to her. He simply nodded and went to heat her soup and bring her the pills and a glass of water. Once she was drugged up, wrapped in another set of blankets, lying back on a mountain of pillows and holding a small bowl of soup, Death sat down at her side and just closed his eyes, obviously tired himself. In fact, he was the first one to fall asleep and Ana looked at his form warily. She poked his shoulder and he grumbled something in his sleep and she giggled. His eyes opened slightly and she froze. Only when they slid back closed did he go back to sleep. She felt bad for treating him roughly last night. But he had destroyed part of her house, and disobeyed her orders to stay inside. She sighed heavily and leaned farther back into the pillows, her bowl placed on the floor and Nodin licking it clean. She felt a full body shiver make her tremble, and she must have accidently bumped Death, for he rolled over to face her, reached for her, and then trapped her in his arms. She sighed heavily and tried to think of why this was not right, but her heart screamed that it was. She was waging a war in her own body, and she was just too tired to think on it at the moment.

Death had woken hours ago, and just held and looked at Ana. Her cold had gotten worse, and she had started to shiver an hour or so ago, and he had been forced to hold her close to keep her warm. He could feel her anger at him, even while she was sleeping, and knew that he had to fix this situation. He just didn't know how. His sister had given him one piece of advice. _Earn her trust, then earn her affection._ He had to earn her trust, but she had seen him destroy part of her house, forced him to fix it himself, and he had disobeyed her orders to stay in the house. He still wondered if he had stayed inside if none of this mess would have happened. She suddenly coughed violently and he flinched, torn from his thoughts. Her whole body tensed and she fought to stop coughing on her own, but she started to gag and Death nearly woke her right then and there. Instead, he got up and grabbed her glass of water, then returned to her and pulled her into a sitting position between his legs and gently shook her till she woke.

"Wha?" she moaned hoarsely, fighting another bought of coughs.

"Drink some water," he said quietly, holding out the full glass.

She looked at it warily, but when he held it closer to her, she finally took it and shakily brought it to her lips. She drank it slowly, her eyes staying on Death's hands which remained on his knees, not touching her in a sign of wanting to earn her trust, even just a sliver. She sighed and leaned back, not even thinking about him being behind her. She watched him take the cup away and place it on a side table, then was about to lay her back down until she stopped him by groaning in discomfort.

"Please don't move," she whimpered.

Death stilled, easing back onto the pillows. She sighed in content and her eyes slid closed. Death eyed her warily, not wanting to wake her, he looked at Nodin for a confirmation that she was really asleep. The half wolf merely sorted and went back to sleep at the edge of the pillow mountain. Death sighed softly, actually enjoying being used as a back rest. She was soft compared to him. He was nothing but solid muscle and bone. Whereas she was soft skin and full curves that would make any man drool. She had the longest dark brown hair that he had ever seen, and it was in gentle curls that wrapped around his fingers when he stroked it. Her skin was fair and unblemished, smooth to the touch. She was dainty in size, yet not exactly helpless. She had shown at the wood pile that she knew how to defend herself, and the calluses on her hands had proven a life of hard work. She didn't seem like the type to just sit around and do nothing. She had always shown him anger and ferocity to him, yet when she was with the horses, and in his arms sick, she had shown a softer side to her that made him want that side shown to him. Yet he doubted that it would happen anytime soon. Death carefully placed an arm over her waist, holding her close, and closed his eyes just wanting to relax for the first time in a long, long while.

Ana woke to being overheated. She took in a deep breath and slowly opened her eyes. She was facing the still roaring fire, but she was half sitting up, half laying back. She felt a strong and hard body behind her, and an equally hard and strong arm around her waist. She carefully removed his arm, trying to not wake him. She shakily came to her feet and shuffled to the bathroom, feeling sick to her stomach. She flipped on the light and gripped the sink counter and tried to shut the door, but her legs gave out and she hit the floor with enough force to knock the breath out of her. She lay there wheezing, unable to move and tears flooded her eyes. She hated it when she got sick, it was always really bad, and if she didn't get better, she could die from it. Once she could breathe she weakly whistled for Nodin. He came running, and when he found her on the floor, he gently nudged her and her moaned softly.

"Get Death," she wheezed, gently pushing Nodin out of the bathroom.

Nodin bounded over to the pillow, then disappeared from sight. She just lay there, trying to breathe evenly. She heard Death get up, then follow Nodin to the bathroom. When he spotted her on the floor, and struggling to breathe, he was at her side in an instant.

"What happened, Ana?" he asked, gently helping her sit up.

"I was going to go to the bathroom, but I guess I wasn't strong enough to do it on my own," she grumbled, too tired to even sit up on her own.

"You could have woken me. You are my mate and I don't mind taking care of you," he growled, gentle picking her up.

She hissed in pain and he froze.

"Did I hurt you?" he asked frantically.

"No. I hit the ground really hard and must have bruised some ribs. No biggie," she said, her voice strained.

"You need to be more careful. If you need to go somewhere you are to let me know. I cannot have my mate getting hurt while she is sick," Death growled, gently setting her back on the pile of pillows.

She hissed in pain again, but this time didn't show much pain in her expression, and instantly relaxed when she sank into the soft pillows.


End file.
